Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ultimate guide for the college student.

1.  Expensive books
Books are ridiculously expensive nowadays and college students are reaping the consequences  (boxed mac and cheese for dinner?) I've done some research to find the best websites for cheap books.  Unfortunately the problem with buying books online is 1. you need a credit card and 2. you dont get your books for a while.  But its still worth it.

a. Alibris
I can personally vouch for this website myself.  I've bought many books from them, and every so often they send you emails for 10% off, 5$ off, etc.  A girl in my class personally found a 150$ book for 99 cents.  Yes, 99 cents.  Check it out and look at the books you've already bought.  How much would you have saved?

b.  Exchange websites.
I decided not to put a link for this one because theres so many websites out there for book exchanges.  I also didnt want to put limits on whether or not you live in canada.  But basically, a book exchange website is a website that you can join and exchange textbooks with something.  Although this can sometimes be a hit or miss, its another good way to get books for cheap.  The only con is that the books will most likely be second hand.  This means there might be writing in it, or highlights.

c.  Amazon/ebay
Another good place to get books, and probably the most common to get books online.  I've also bought books from amazon, and with this you sometimes get the option to deliver in one day! Now that is sweet.  Books also come new and used, giving you the choice of buying the slightly more expensive (but still cheap!) new book, or the cheap used book (which can sometimes come in nearly new condition anyway!)

2.  Meals
Are you guys even surprised that I would include meals in this blog? I didnt think so.

a. Oreo Truffles
I had to include this in the blog, even if its not a really healthy meal.  I never said these meals would help you stay lean ;) But oreo truffles are a well known college students treat, because it doesnt require actual cooking.  All you need is oreos, a blender, cream cheese and chocolate.  Bam! A rich, delicious dessert.

b.  Chocolate crepes
Yet again, another less healthy option.  The beauty about these though, is that you can put a side plate of fruit on the side to make it a bit more healthy.  Dribble with some syrup (chocolate syrup really goes well with these in my opinion) and you're good to go.

c.  BLT
I trust that I dont need to include a recipe for this? Its pretty well known, and so, so easy to make.  Fry your bacon (I recommend trying skillet bacon.  Its a bit weird at first but I love it now!) toast your toast (protip: Toast the bottom piece and keep a regular piece of bread for the top piece.  This way, the toast doesnt scrape the top of your mouth, but you still get the bottom piece of crunchiness!) tomato, lettuce, and your sauce of choice (I love honey mustard).

3.  Procrastination elimination.
I know my biggest cause of procrastination is laziness.  My books are on the other side of the room? Oh well.  I'll just browse facebook.

a. Be aware of what youre doing.
In my opinion, my biggest problem with procrastination is that I'm not really aware of what I'm doing.  I'll start doing homework, and then two seconds later I'm on facebook.  I often catch myself saying "What the hell? How did I end up on here?" and its not only with facebook that I do that.  Its with anything that I dont really want to do.  The other day I was suppose to attend an AA meeting for a class assignment, but I didnt want to.  When the time rolled around, I completely ignored the fact that I had to go.  It was only a few hours later that I realized I missed it.  Doh!
Thats why its important to not block out the things on your to do list.  People are so use to ignoring what stresses them out, but all that does is stress you out even more! Make it a conscious decision to think about what you have to do and not stop doing it til its done.

b.  Carry an agenda
You may feel silly your first few weeks with an agenda but it helps tremendously.  A lot of my teachers kept telling me that I would never pass my program if I didnt get an agenda, but I didnt believe them.  As the semesters went on, my marks went lower and lower.  Once I got an agenda, everything became a lot easier! Even if I wasnt checking my agenda after I wrote things, it still helped to write them down in the first place.  It was as if writing it down was reinforcing it in my brain.


In summary, college can be easy or hard, it really depends on how you utilize the resources around you.  Hopefully the information I've included in this post can help you in your studies.

18 comments:

  1. thank you for advise

    ReplyDelete
  2. most of these reasons are why i failed college :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love reading about college life; I left highschool at 16 and live in Australia. I'll never know what it's like, so I try to fill the void by reading about it. Followed! n___n`~

    ReplyDelete
  4. I almost always use Ebay to purchase my books. Typically leads to 20-90% off book store prices. Condition isn't always optimal, but who cares.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i'm going to college soon , thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Nina - Its difficult, especially the finances.. blah

    @Rinns How old are you now? I'm sure theres still time! I have 40 year olds going to school at my college!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is beyond perfect for me since I moved away for college, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. try to download books! ive heard they have the pdf files online.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you RND I was gonna say that! Totally forgot to mention it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. hey, first I want to say thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment! :D

    second, this post will help me survive when I go for my exchange abroad next year :) yay

    the oreo truffles sound yummy, will try that soon.

    oh P.S. i think you'll like this post as well:
    http://espandeary.blogspot.com/2011/02/drizzle.html

    check it out

    -Roza

    ReplyDelete
  11. A lot of good words for the younger ones in the audience. Take these to heart, guys. She tells the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the tips. I'm currently battling the insane costs of going to university. My favorite way to save money is to eat left over food at the hospital that I work at. Unsightly, I know, but it does the job.

    You should check my blog out, I'm going to try for med school, should be interesting.

    Great blog btw, followed.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yeah, I agree with everything here, I'd just like to add, that once you fall out of your studying habits it's twice as hard to get them back, so don't put off things.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm in college and I've quit buying books. They are more of a formality now. Its almost "tradition" to assign books and reading, but in reality most of what I learn comes from lectures

    ReplyDelete
  15. @ElectroSilhouette, I have to agree I've bought a lot less books as I went into the years than I did in the beginning. Unfortunately a lot of our teachers force us to cite the books or they make us buy workbooks that we have to write it.

    ReplyDelete